Your Hand in Mine
by emmylouuwho
Summary: My version of what happens after 4.07  SPOILERS for 4.06 & 4.07 . Mostly Jecker related.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is my first ever fanfic, so please be nice! Constructive criticism is always appreciated though. And most of this was written between midnight and four am over the course of a couple days, with Explosions in the Sky's album "the Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place" on repeat (hence the title), so let me know if it gets unintelligible. ****Again, SPOILERS for 4x06 & 4x07. I'm pretty much done with this one, it should be 9 chapters, and I'm just changing some of the scenes in later chapters that I'm still not happy with. **

Becker bent over her unconscious form, silently promising God anything He wanted if she would only open her eyes.

"Jess? Jess, wake up! Open your eyes." No response. He checked her pulse; it was faint, but steady. _Dammit, she's supposed to be the safe one. She should have been protected here. I should have protected her._

"Jess! Please, look at me. Jess! Come on, don't do this to me. Wake up!"

**One Week Earlier**

Jess Parker was just finishing a second report on some server glitches that had been fixed earlier that day. She was only half focused on the routine paperwork that came from having two bosses, however. She was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Danny Quinn, the former leader of the ARC team, had suddenly stepped out of an anomaly. Or rather, run out of, and collapsed, as Matt had shot him. Not only that, but Ethan, the man who tried to kill Becker and herself with a bomb only a few days before, was his long-lost brother, Patrick. _And I thought working at a secret government facility that fights dinosaurs was strange. Now this place is turning into a soap opera._ Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Jess spotted someone on the CCTV outside the interrogation room where Ethan was being held. She zoomed in. It was Ethan, and he was armed. She quickly pressed the alarm. "Intruder alert! All units to Corridor 5!"

"Intruder alert! All units to Corridor 5!"

Becker grabbed his EMD and sprinted down the hallway in the direction Jess had indicated over the comms. He rounded the corner and spotted Ethan and Emily in the corridor, just as Ethan grabbed her, spinning her around in front of himself to use as a shield.

"Hey! Ethan! Or Patrick, or whatever your name is. Lower your weapon slowly and get down on the ground now. Now!"

Ethan just grinned insanely, and pointed his EMD right at Emily's head.

"Ok," Becker said, trying to sound calm. _What the hell is taking the other units so long? _He lowered his EMD and held up his hands slightly. "Just don't harm her, Ok?" _Come on, now would be a great time for some backup!_

"I won't."

Suddenly Becker felt like he'd put his finger in a wall socket. _This must be what it feels like to be struck by lightning,_ he thought hazily. He slid against the wall to the ground, groaning. He could hear footsteps, and Emily gasping, and then everything went dark.

* * *

_Where is everyone?_ Jess thought desperately. At first she'd been relieved to see that Becker was the first to arrive on the scene, especially since Ethan now had Emily as a hostage. He was their most experienced soldier, and she had faith in him, in the fact that he would do everything in his power to stop Ethan and get Emily back safely. But seconds passed, and there was no sign of backup. _What is taking them so long? And why does Becker always have to be the hero, putting himself in harm's way? _Jess thought, forgetting the relief and trust she'd felt a moment before.

Suddenly Becker was on the ground, and Jess watched in horror as Ethan shot him a second time with the EMD before dragging Emily off. She felt as if the sight of Becker lying there, so still, so... helpless, would be seared into her mind for the rest of her life.

"Medics to Corridor 5! I repeat, medics to Corridor 5! NOW!"

Without thinking, Jess jumped out of her seat in front of the ADD and sprinted off. The only thought in her head was a chorus of _don't be dead, please don't be dead, don't be dead_. She arrived at Becker's side just as several of his soldiers came running down the hall, but she couldn't even spare a moment to yell at them. She knelt at his side, relieved to see he was still breathing, and gently shook his shoulder.

"Becker? Becker! Can you hear me?"

Jess realized the medics had arrived when a strange arm moved into her field of vision, checking the captain's pulse.

"Pulse is steady, no sign of concussion..."

Jess barely registered the words, her eyes never leaving Becker's face. As they were moving him onto a stretcher, Becker groaned and blinked open his eyes, quickly closing them again with a grimace.

"Becker! You Ok?" Jess let out a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding, and seized his hand in both of hers.

"F... Fine... Jus'... just a scratch, 'member?" he said softly, trying to smile as he squinted up at her.

Jess returned the smile, hers watery with unshed tears. She gave his hand a quick squeeze, then the medics wheeled him off to the medical wing.


	2. Chapter 2

Matt kept turning over Danny Quinn's last words to him in his head. _Burton is not to be trusted._ Could Burton be the one Matt and his father had spent the past ten years looking for? Was he the one responsible for the world Matt had left behind, the wasteland that had once been home? _Philip Burton is connected to Helen Cutter. They knew each other. _From the files he'd read, it seemed to Matt as if Helen Cutter had seen the future he'd come from, had seen what the anomalies, what mankind, had done to the planet. Granted, she'd been insane, and had since been killed by a raptor, but perhaps she'd been on the same mission he was currently on, to save the planet from what humanity would do to it. The only difference was, Matt wanted to save humanity as well. _Burton is not to be trusted._ But could Matt trust Danny? _Well, he did save the entire human race from annihilation._ Yes, Matt decided, he trusted Danny. He just wasn't sure what to do with the information he'd been given.

It had been almost forty-eight hours since Danny had stepped back through the anomaly, this time following his brother. "Say goodbye to Abby and Connor for me, will you? And oi, I've not forgotten that you shot me." Matt had smiled at that.

He had given Abby and Connor the message, but hadn't yet told them what Danny had said about Philip Burton and Helen Cutter. Partly because he couldn't seem to get it straight in his own head, and partly because he hadn't seen Connor outside of Burton's company yet. Connor had been shut up in his lab for the past day, not even leaving to eat or sleep. Something had him worried, and Matt had a good idea what had done it.

* * *

Abby hadn't seen Connor at all that day, or the night before for that matter, and was starting to get worried.

"Jess, you haven't seen Connor, have you?" Abby asked, leaning against the field coordinator's desk.

Jess turned slowly from the ADD. "Last I saw of him, he was in his lab with Philip. But that was last night."

"Yeah, that's what's got me worried." Jess quirked an eyebrow questioningly. "He's been acting odd since those two anomalies at the prison. Odder than usual," Abby corrected herself.

Jess shrugged. "Maybe he's just finishing some new invention or something," she said, sounding distracted.

"Are _you_ Ok?" Abby asked.

"What?" Jess snapped back to reality. "Yes, of course, I'm fine. Totally. Why wouldn't I be?"

Abby smiled at Jess' rambling. "You worried about Becker?"

"What? No! Well, yes, of course. I mean, we all are. He's a member of the team, and we're friends, of course, and-"

"Uh huh." Abby smirked, and headed back to the menagerie.

* * *

Jess turned back to the ADD as soon as Abby left, and, sighing deeply, slumped back into her chair. To tell the truth, she was a little distracted by Becker, but that was hardly different from normal.

She'd been to see him in Medical as soon as she'd arrived at work that day, to find him practically climbing the walls.

"Jess! Can you please tell that... prison warden over there that I'm fine?" he said, pointing at the head nurse, who was pointedly bent over a chart at her desk across the room.

"Fine? You were shot! Twice! At an EMD setting that could bring down a raptor! You're staying right there," Jess said, glaring, hands on her hips.

"Collaborator," Becker muttered grumpily, flopping back onto the pillows with a sigh.

"Hey, I come bearing gifts. And if you aren't nice to me, I may not give them to you," Jess said, smiling widely. She pulled a large stack of files out of her tote bag. "This is everything that's happened in the past two days, in all its excruciatingly mind-numbing detail." She dropped the stack onto the bedside table, and sat down in the chair next to the hospital bed, flipping through the pile. "Expense reports, server glitches, menagerie creature updates, supply requisitions, and, ooh, your favorite - the armory inventory."

She pulled the last file out of the stack and held it up, eyebrows raised, a huge grin on her face.

Becker smirked at her. "You're making fun of me again, aren't you?"

Jess smiled back, trying not to blush. "Of course."

* * *

The sound of the anomaly alarm jerked Jess back to the present.

"What do we have, Jess?" Matt asked, jogging over to stand behind her.

"There's an anomaly about ten miles west of here, it looks like another school."

"Becker'll be glad to be on medical leave this time," Abby said as she walked up behind them.

"Alright," Jess said. "I've sent the coordinates to your phones. It's in a field behind the school, so there shouldn't be too many people there this late in the day."

"Thanks Jess," Matt said. He and Abby turned toward the hall leading to the car park when suddenly Connor sprinted up to them. He looked as though he hadn't slept in days, with his hair sticking out at odd angles, as though he'd been pulling at it anxiously, and Abby recognized the clothes he was wearing as the same ones he'd been wearing two days ago.

"Where are we headed?"

"You're headed nowhere, except home for a shower and a good night's sleep," Matt replied.

"But-" Connor started to protest.

"You are not going out in the field in that state," Matt said firmly, and walked off. Abby gave Connor what she hoped was a sympathetic look, and hurried after him.

Connor walked over to stand beside Jess with a sour look on his face.

Jess glanced at him for a moment before returning to her attempts to hack into the school's surveillance system. "Matt's right, you look terrible."

"Thanks," he replied. "Well, I guess I'll get back to my lab. No one needs me here, do they?"

"Go home, Connor. You look exhausted. Abby's getting worried about you.""I'm fine, Jess," he said, and headed back to his lab. "I'm worried about her too. Her and the rest of the human race," he muttered to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I'm still not completely happy with this chapter and the next one, but I figured I'd just put them up and y'all can tell me what you think.**

As soon as he heard the anomaly alarms, Becker slipped the comm earpiece he'd swiped out of his pocket and into his ear, first making sure the nurse's back was turned. He couldn't afford to have it confiscated. It was bad enough being stuck in a hospital bed while his team, his _friends_, were out there in danger, without being unaware of what was going on as well.

"... west of here, it looks like another school." He could hear the frown in Jess' voice as she narrowed down the location.

"Becker'll be glad to be on medical leave this time." _Very funny Abigail_, he thought.

"Alright. I've sent the coordinates to your phones. It's in a field behind the school, so there shouldn't be too many people there this late in the day."

Becker listened as Matt, quite rightly, told Connor to stay at the ARC or go home. As soon as he heard Matt and Abby get into the truck and leave, he picked up the phone on his bedside table and dialed the number for Jess' desk.

"Jess, it's me."

"You're supposed to be recuperating, Becker."

"I know, I know. Listen, do you think you could patch the CCTV feed into the computer here in the medical wing?"

"What? No, that's against the rules. You should know that, you came up with half of them. And anyway, what are you going to do from there? Glare any creatures that come through to death?"

"Please, Jess? I'll buy you the biggest box of orange-free chocolate you've ever seen," Becker pleaded, casting about for another potential bribe. "And I'll get Connor out of your hair for at least five hours this weekend."

"How are you going to manage that?"

"Paintball," Becker replied simply.

"Well..." He could hear Jess' resolve crumbling and smiled. "How are you going to convince the nurse to let you use the computer?"

"Leave that to me."

* * *

"Not only is it against the regulations of this facility, but it unnecessarily divides the attention of the field coordinator, which could have resulted in one of your team members being seriously injured!"

Lester paced back and forth behind his desk. In front of him, Capt. Becker stood rigidly to attention, despite the cane foisted on him by the medical staff, and Jess Parker stood with her hands clasped in front of her, staring shamefaced at the floor.

"Now, Miss Parker, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"It wasn't Jess' fault, sir," Becker said before Jess could reply. "I talked her into patching me into the CCTV feeds."

"Yes, well, Miss Parker's susceptibility to your charms notwithstanding, captain, she still knows the rules as well as, if not better than, anyone."

"Yes, sir," Becker said, still staring straight ahead. Jess echoed him, still looking down at the floor like a child called in to the principal's office.

"Now," Lester said, trying to regain his composure. "As no one was hurt on this mission, I won't mention this... indiscretion in my report to the Minister. Alright Miss Parker, back to work. Captain Becker, you are going straight home and I don't want to see you here again until your _mandatory_ medical leave is up, which would be the day after tomorrow."

Jess hurried back to her desk, avoiding eye contact with everyone she passed.

"Jess! Wait up!" She walked faster, but, despite the cane, Becker's long legs easily caught up with her.

"Jess! I'm sorry," Becker said, reaching out to put a hand on her arm to slow her down. "I didn't think..."

"No, you didn't," Jess snapped, jerking her arm out of his grasp and whirling around to face him. "It wasn't your job you were risking, it was mine. I could have been sacked! They wouldn't sack you, you're Capt. Becker, the ARC's hero. You're part of the original team. I could've been sacked!" she repeated, speaking more to herself than to Becker at this point. "And I knew that. And I let you talk me into it. I let you talk me into it, because you were being all charming and flirtatious. But that's not going to happen again. Ever again! Ok?" Jess glared at him for a moment, then turned on her heel and stalked back to her desk.

Becker just stared after her, dumbstruck. Was that the same girl he knew? _That was not my Jess,_ he thought to himself as he headed towards the car park. Then he stopped short as a thought struck him. _When did I start thinking of her as __**my **__Jess?_


	4. Chapter 4

The next day Jess was still furious, as much with herself as with Becker. Her work was everything to her, especially since she'd started working at the ARC, and she'd realized how important what they did was. They were literally saving the world. _And Becker should understand that,_ she thought. _God knows he's as much of a workaholic as I am._ It wasn't that what she'd done was a such a major breach of security in it of itself, it was just that she'd let herself be talked into breaking the rules, rules that were put in place for a good reason - to keep the computer systems of each section of the ARC separate, so that if the ARC was ever invaded again, no intruder could easily take over the entire facility's systems - all because Becker was the one who asked her.

_Just because he's all gorgeous and charming and heroically damaged and just the right height for you is no reason to risk everything you've worked so hard to get, Jessica Anne Parker!_ she mentally reprimanded herself. _And anyway, by this time, everyone in the ARC knows you fancy him, you'd have to be blind and deaf not to notice, so obviously he doesn't feel the same or he would've said something. So you need to stop falling all over yourself around him. Get a grip!_

_

* * *

_

Becker stared blankly at the television, not really paying it any attention. He was too busy turning the events of the past few days over in his head, and two images kept coming back to him. The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes, after Ethan shot him, was Jess' face. She was bent down over him, so close that he could smell the jasmine in her hair, that he had smelled before when she'd run into his arms after diffusing that bomb. He remembered thinking that he'd never noticed her dimples before, or how big and incredibly blue her eyes were, filled with tears as they were. He remembered the feel of her small hands holding his larger one, and the small squeeze she'd given it before he was wheeled off down the hall.

But then Becker remembered Jess as she had been the day before. He had never seen her angry before, and didn't especially like to be the cause of it. He knew she was upset that he talked her into breaking the rules, but didn't understand why she should be quite so angry about it. _After all, hacking is her job, so why should a little in-house hacking matter? No, _he reconsidered, _she's too honest to be a serious hacker, and she just doesn't like to break the rules. _He knew he shouldn't have asked her to do it, but he couldn't stand not knowing what was happening with his team. He wouldn't be able to handle losing another one of them. And he thought Jess understood that. But, apparently, that understanding only went so far.

He still didn't like to see that look in her eyes, as though she wasn't happy to see him. She was always happy to see him. Becker knew Jess liked him. _Hell, everyone in the ARC knew that. _And, if he was being honest with himself, he quite liked her as well. He just wasn't sure how he should go about talking to her about it. He felt a stab of panic just thinking about trying to start that conversation. He'd never been very good with the whole expressing-one's-feelings... thing. _And anyway, _he thought, retreating from the terrifying image of telling Jess how he felt about her. _It's not as if anything could come of it. _He couldn't get involved with someone from work, especially not someone on his team. The soldier in him knew that those kind of relationships split one's focus in the field. Becker shook his head, as if that might sort out the jumbled thoughts in his head, and picked up the TV remote. He began flipping through the channels, trying to find something that would take his mind off of things.

* * *

Abby had had enough. She walked down the hall that ended in Connor's new lab, determined to find out what was going on with him. Connor never kept things from her. On the contrary, he tended to tell her a good deal more than she needed to know about everything, from the inner workings of his newest computer program to the minutest details of whatever comic book he was reading at the time. When they first met, Abby found Connor's tendency to overshare annoying, but now she found it endearing and oddly comforting. It was just part of what made Connor Connor, the man she fell in love with. It also meant that there were never any secrets between them. She could always tell when he was lying or trying to keep something from her, which he never could for long, and, in the end she could always get him to spill. But now it seemed that there were secrets between them, and Abby didn't like that feeling one bit.

Abby pushed open the door of Connor's lab to find him staring at a screen with a lot of equations projected onto it. In his hand was a pad of paper, and he was chewing on the end of a ballpoint pen, a frown creating a crease between his brows. Every wall in the room now seemed to be taken up with a large whiteboard, and all of them were covered in equations and graphs that made no sense to her, although some of them looked like the anomaly map they'd seen in the future. Connor didn't even seem to notice that anyone had come in, he was so wrapped up in his thoughts, muttering unintelligibly under his breath.

"Connor?" Abby said softly, and he jumped. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I just haven't seen much of you lately."

"Oh sorry," he replied, still distracted. "Been a bit busy with all this, haven't I?"

"Yeah. Well, if you can drag yourself away for an hour or so, I thought I might let you take me to lunch." She gave him an inviting smile.

"Uh, I'd love to," Connor said, not quite meeting her eye. "But I can't stop just now. This is really important."

"What is it you're working on?"

Connor looked as though that was the one thing he'd been hoping she wouldn't ask. "I... I can't tell you. I wish I could, but I promised Philip... I just can't Abby. It's too important."

All of the sudden Abby was furious. All the worry and doubt that had been bottling up inside her the past few days just came spewing out.

"Well, that's just fine. I hope you and Philip are very happy together. If you decide I can be _trusted_ with something _important_, you know where to find me."

She turned on her heel and stormed out, not stopping when she heard Connor call after her. "Abby! I didn't mean it like that! Abby!"

Abby wished she could swallow her words as soon as they were out of her mouth. She knew she sounded like a petulant schoolgirl, but she was just couldn't help herself. Connor always had that effect on her, the ability to get under her skin like no one else could. Abby turned in the direction of the Ops room. She decided to ask Jess out to lunch, and maybe they could commiserate over the stupidity of men.

* * *

"I just don't know what's going on with him," Abby concluded a short time later, as she and Jess sat in a booth at a nearby pub. Abby continued to shred the paper wrapping from her straw absently, dropping the pieces onto her empty plate.

"Well, I don't have a lot of experience in this area," Jess replied after a moment's silence. "But it seems to me that work is the only thing that really matters to men, and it seems to take precedence over their own or anyone else's feelings." She said this more forcefully than she meant to, and Abby looked up at her in surprise, the straw wrapper forgotten.

"I take it this has something to do with why you and Becker were called into Lester's office yesterday?"

Before Jess could answer, both of their cell phones went off. It was an anomaly alert.

_What, again?_ Jess thought. _They seem to be getting a lot more frequent lately._


	5. Chapter 5

Becker arrived at the ARC earlier than usual for his first day back after medical leave. He stepped out of the elevator, only slightly stiffly, into the Ops room, and saw Jess already seated in front of the ADD. He quickly turned aside and headed for the armory, mentally cursing himself for his cowardice. He just couldn't stand to see that look again, the look that told him he wasn't welcome, that she wasn't happy to see him.

* * *

Jess heard the elevator doors open, and knew in her gut that it was Becker, but she didn't turn. After her outburst the other day, she wasn't sure how to act around him. She heard footsteps and looked around just in time to see him disappear around the corner. She frowned, but didn't have time to agonize over what Becker must be thinking. "Jess?" Matt's voice came over the comm. "Can you meet me in my office?"

"I'll be right there."

Jess walked into Matt's office to find that Becker and Abby were already there, Becker leaning against the wall, arms crossed, and Abby in one of the two chairs in front of the desk. Jess ducked her head, blushing, and went to sit next to Abby. She then looked expectantly at Matt, trying to focus.

"What I'm about to tell you cannot leave this room," Matt said, looking at each of them in turn. Each one of them nodded as he made eye contact.

"Shouldn't we wait for Connor?" Abby asked.

"That's part of what I need to talk to you about," Matt replied. "It's about Burton."

Matt leaned back in his chair and told them what he'd learned from Danny.

"Before he left through the anomaly, Danny told me something about Burton. He said that Burton was connected to Helen Cutter somehow, that they knew each other, and it had something to do with anomaly research. He seemed to think he must have been helping her with information about the anomalies."

They all sat in stunned silence for a moment. Then Jess asked, "Do you think that Burton is going to try the same thing Helen was? Try and stop humanity from developing? Because of the anomalies? That's what she believed, right? That's what the files said anyway, that she saw the future and thought humans used the anomalies to destroy the planet." Abby put a hand on her arm to silence her.

"I don't know, Jess," Matt said. "That's all he had a chance to tell me. Well that, and that none of us should trust Burton."

"What does this have to do with Connor?" Abby asked, a fearful look in her eye.

"From the way he and Burton have been shutting themselves off in his lab lately, I thought I should tell the rest of you first and see what you thought, whether we should tell Connor. I've already told Lester, and he's agreed to keep it to himself for now, but he'll be keeping an eye on Burton, and-"

Matt was interrupted by the sound of the anomaly alert.

"And I was hoping for a quiet first day back," Becker sighed.


	6. Chapter 6

Connor didn't stir when his cell phone, dropped on the floor next to his bed, began to vibrate and then ring, signaling an anomaly alert. This was the first time he'd been home in three days, and he hadn't even paused to do more than take his shoes off before flopping onto his bed, which was a thousand times more comfortable than the couch in his office, and instantly falling asleep.

* * *

Matt, Becker, and Abby arrived at the anomaly site just as Jess finished hacking into the building's CCTV feeds. It was a warehouse beside the docks, and it was still early enough that she could only see perhaps a dozen workers in the whole building.

"The anomaly's in the southeast corner," Jess told the team. "I'm about to trigger the fire alarm, but there aren't too many people about."

"Copy that," Matt said, taking the EMD Becker handed him out of the case in the back of the truck. Then he, Becker, and Abby, all armed with there EMDs entered the warehouse just as the fire alarm went off.

"It should be down the end of the row you're in, just round the corner to your right," Jess directed.

"I see it Jess," Abby said. "Any sign of a creature incursion?"

"Not yet."

Abby knelt before the anomaly and opened the case containing the anomaly locker, while Matt and Becker kept their EMDs trained on the anomaly.

"Something's coming through, Abby. Hurry up," Becker hissed at her.

"Just one more minute."

"That's not going to be fast enough. Move!"

Abby leapt out of the way just as two figures fell to the ground, right where she'd been kneeling a moment before. One of them, a dark-haired man lying face down, looked to be unconscious. The other man, this one fair-haired, rolled onto his back just as Abby pushed the last few buttons that locked the anomaly.

"Fancy seeing you lot here," the man said, grinning.

Abby's head jerked around in surprise. "Danny?"

"That was pretty quick work," Matt commented, nodding toward the unconscious Ethan and offering Danny a hand getting to his feet.

"Eh? What're you talking about? I've been gone more than six months."

Abby stared. "From our end, it's only been, what, six days?" she said, looking to Becker for confirmation.

"Time travel gives me a headache," Danny said with a sigh.


	7. Chapter 7

"We'll need to find a secure place to hold him," Lester said, pacing his office. "We can't just dump him into the prison system. Even if people think he's crazy, he still knows too much about anomalies and this facility."

Lester had been as surprised as the rest of them at the news that Danny had returned, with a captured Ethan in tow, so soon. Lester, Matt, Becker, and Abby were now in Lester's office, trying to decide what should be done with their unusual prisoner.

"I'm not sure how Danny's gonna react. Ethan is his brother," Matt replied.

"Well I don't give a damn what Danny Quinn has to say about it! I'm not keeping a sociopath as a pet!"

Danny walked in a moment later, barely recognizable. He'd had a hot shower and a few hours sleep, and now wore a fresh set of clothes. "Why do I feel like my ears are burning?"

Abby grinned at him, one eyebrow raised. "Very nice, but you still need a haircut."

"We were just discussing what to do with your brother, Danny," Lester stated succinctly.

"You're gonna lock him up somewhere, I suppose?" He sounded very calm. Everyone looked at him curiously. "You forget I've had six months to get used to the idea. To see just the sort of man my brother's become. That man's not my brother anymore."

Abby stepped over and put a hand on his arm sympathetically.

Lester sighed. "Well, we're going to keep him here for now, at least until a suitable facility can be found. Until then, no one," Lester gave Danny a pointed look. "And I mean no one is to have any contact with him."

* * *

Danny had resigned himself to the fact that his brother was going to be locked up. As soon as he realized he'd brought them back into their own time, or at least his own time, he knew what would happen. So, when he walked into Lester's office, he wasn't surprised to find them discussing it. He sat down next to Abby, while Becker and Matt leaned against the wall and Lester paced behind his desk. "Until then, no one, and I mean no one is to have any contact with him." Lester was looking at him sternly, so Danny nodded to show he understood. Lester stepped to his office door and opened it. "Jess!"

Danny turned to the door just as a pretty brunette in a short, bright pink dress hurried in, her blue heels clicking across the floor. "I need you to do some... research for me," Lester said, quickly explaining what he wanted. Jess nodded and turned to leave, and Danny didn't miss the look, and accompanying blush on Jess' part, that passed between Becker and the field coordinator. He smirked. _Some things never change around here. _Then a thought struck him.

"Where's Connor?" Danny asked, turning to Abby.

"Hopefully at home asleep," she replied. "He hasn't left the ARC in days. He spends most of the time in his lab, sometimes with Burton." Danny stared at that, then turned to Matt with a quizzical look.

Matt nodded. "I told them, but Connor had already shut himself away in his lab, and I haven't had a chance to see him without Burton in the room yet."

* * *

Ethan sat quietly in his cell at the ARC, just staring at the tray of food that was just brought in to him. Ethan had been in that room for almost twenty-four hours, and hadn't said so much as a word. In the next room, Becker watched him on the surveillance cameras. _He's not going to escape this time._ He didn't even turn around when Danny came in behind him and sat down in the other chair, watching the screens in front of him.

"Anything?" Danny asked.

"Not a peep," Becker replied, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"So, that new girl, Jess," Danny said after a few minutes, a teasing grin spreading across his face. "What's going on between the two of you?"

Becker slowly turned from the TV screens and fixed Danny with what he hoped was his fiercest glare.

Danny's grin widened. "I thought so. You fight dinosaurs for a living, and yet you're afraid to talk to a ninety-pound girl?"


	8. Chapter 8

Jess was just walking in to the ARC the next morning when Becker came up and stopped her in the car park.

"Jess! Hi, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," Jess replied, and they began the walk to the building together.

"So, um, I really am sorry about what happened the other day. I didn't think about how it might affect you and I apologize for that." They stepped into the elevator.

"I know, it's alright, I think I overreacted a bit," Jess said, smiling as they got out of the elevator.

"Listen, Jess, I-"

Becker's words were cut short by alarms.

"Intruder alert!" A voice spoke over the intercom.

"Ethan." Becker guessed and sprinted toward the armory while Jess hurried to the ADD and took over from the night shift.

"Becker," Jess said, putting her comm earpiece in. "He's down by the menagerie, but he's heading this way. Lester wants you to take guns, not EMDs. How far away are you?"

"Minutes."

"Ok, well hurry up," Jess replied, and then spoke over the intercom. "All units to Corridor 9! Intruder in Corridor 9!"

* * *

Danny woke with a start to alarms going off. He had fallen asleep in the surveillance room outside Ethan's cell, his head laid back against the top of the swivel chair. He looked over at the screens quickly. The guard who delivered his brother's meals was lying on the floor, the door was open, and Danny could see the arm of another guard through the door. He put his earpiece in as he ran down the hall toward the armory.

"... wants you to take guns, not EMDs." _Damn. _As hard as it was for Danny to admit, he could see why Lester would order that. He would probably do the same in Lester's position. But still...

* * *

Jess was busy trying to lock down the doors leading into the Ops room when she heard a noise. She was the only one there, as she was the first of the day shift to arrive. She turned her head in the direction of the noise just as she saw an arm holding a keyboard swing at her face. She shrieked once and fell to the floor, unconscious.

* * *

Becker was sprinting toward Ops, followed by four of his men, when the worst sound he had ever heard came over the comms. Jess' terrified scream, and then silence. He picked up the pace. Ethan wasn't going to get away this time. He had teams coming from all directions towards the Ops room. Becker gritted his teeth. _He's not going to escape again._

He rounded the corner at the same time Danny did coming down the hall to his left. Becker raised his gun, then saw who it was and quickly lowered it again. "Come on," he said and continued on.

Becker and Danny entered Ops at the same moment, just as they heard shouting followed by several gunshots. They both stood for a moment, staring at the scene in front of them. Jess was on the floor next to her desk, a gash on her forehead. Five of Becker's men stood in a rough circle around a second body, Ethan, who was surrounded by a large pool of blood.

Danny pushed himself between the soldiers and knelt next to his brother, taking him into his arms.

"Patrick? Patrick, I'm sorry. It's my fault. I'm so sorry."

"Sorry?" Ethan said softly, his voice sounding confused and almost childlike.

"I'm sorry I didn't come and get you before, when you were a kid."

"Danny?"

"Yeah, Patrick. I'm right here."

"Wha's happen'ng? ... What's gonna happ'n?"

"I dunno, little bro." Ethan's eyes gazed over and Danny hugged his brother to his chest, the tears streaming freely down his face now. "I dunno."

* * *

Becker was only vaguely aware of Danny running off toward Ethan. He could only focus on Jess. He bent over her unconscious form, silently promising God anything He wanted if she would only open her eyes.

"Jess? Jess, wake up! Open your eyes." No response. He checked her pulse; it was faint, but steady. _Dammit, she's supposed to be the safe one. She should have been protected here. I should have protected her._

"Jess! Please, look at me. Jess! Come on, don't do this to me. Wake up!"

**Author's Note: Still not happy with this chapter, but I've been staring at it blankly for so long it's getting on my nerves.**


	9. Chapter 9

"Jess! Wake up! Jessie! Come on! Wake up!"

Jess woke with a start. She was eight years old, and someone was yelling at her. She blinked open her eyes. She was still on the shore of the lake, wearing a tank top and shorts over her swimsuit, but now the sun was setting behind the trees and it was quickly growing dark. She got up from the towel she was lying on, and felt a hand tugging her own impatiently. She looked around, and there was her older brother, Donovan, trying to tug her toward the path up to their family's lake house.

"Come on, Jess! If we're late for dinner again, Mum's going to _murder_ us!"

Jess barely had time to pick up her towel before Donny was pulling her along the path.

"Come on, Jess!" This time it wasn't Donny's voice she heard. But still she knew that voice. Donny, the lake, and the path started to fade, but the feel of someone holding her hand didn't. "Come back to me," the familiar voice said. And still someone was holding onto her hand. Jess felt like that hand was her anchor, and it was slowly pulling her back home, back to reality.

* * *

Becker sat next to the hospital bed, holding one small hand in his. _She'll be in and out of consciousness for the next couple hours_, the doctor had said. _She took a pretty good knock to the head, but she should be fine._ _You should go home, captain, we'll call you if there's any change._ But he couldn't leave. He just couldn't.

"Come on, Jess. Come back to us. Wake up," he whispered.

Abby had been in to check on her a few times, and offered to sit with her while he took a break. He declined the offer, and she seemed to instinctively understand his need to be there the moment Jess woke up. He couldn't lose another member of his team. _But Jess isn't just another member of the team,_ a small voice in the back of his mind said. _I can't lose her because she's Jess. My Jess._

"Come on, Jess. Come back to me."

* * *

Jess awoke slowly, reaching up to feel a bandage over her forehead. She opened her eyes cautiously, feeling like she had the world's worst hangover. The first thing she saw was Becker, fast asleep, sitting next to her in the medical wing. He was slumped in his chair, hair tousled, his head back, mouth slightly open, snoring loud enough to wake the dead. This unusual sight elicited a soft snort of laughter from Jess, and Becker jerked awake.

"Jess! You're awake."

"I was asleep," she said slowly, looking around, groggy from the pain meds. "On the beach."

Becker smiled at her confused frown. "You have a concussion. I think you were dreaming."

Jess turned to look at him again, and smiled as though seeing him for the first time. Then she felt a hand in hers again, and looked down.

"Becker, you're holding my hand."

"Yep."

Jess leaned back against the pillows once more. "That's nice," she said, smiling. She closed her eyes and was asleep again almost immediately, a slight smile still on her face.

"Get some rest, Jessica." Becker chuckled softly, and gently brushed a strand of hair off her cheek. Then he settled back into his chair, still holding her hand, and closed his eyes contentedly.

**Author's Note: I know, I know, lots of unresolved bits, but I wanted to end it there. And don't worry I'm working on a sequel. I just keep getting distracted by all the other ideas for stories floating around in my brain.**


End file.
